Recipe: Coconut Cake

It's no secret by now that I have a little bit of a sweet tooth. In a bid to satisfy those cake cravings last week I delved in to my Good Food 101 Cakes and Bakes book and decided to whip up this yummy coconut cake. This might not be the most Pinterest worthy but it's the softest spongiest coconutty cake ever. Seriously.



Ingredients:

175g unsalted butter

175g caster sugar

175g self-raising flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

50g dessicated coconut

2 tbsp coconut cream (remember the handy hint above :)

For the coconut buttercream icing you need…

280g icing sugar

100g unsalted butter

3 tbsp coconut cream

a jar of raspberry seedless jam

The how to:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees and grease and line two 8 inch round cake tins.

Mix the butter and sugar together ( so much easier if you use an electric whisk) until it starts to turn paler before adding in  the eggs, flour and baking powder. Beat well for a couple of minutes and then you'll need to add in your coconut cream and the desiccated coconut.

Divide the mixture evenly between both  tins and and then you need to bake it for around 25 minutes until it is golden and firm to touch. Don't forget to test whether a skewer comes out clean.

Once the cakes have cooled carefully remove them from the tins and let them completely cool. You don't want them to be warm or else your frosting is going to run off!

To make the buttercream you  need to sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and beat in the butter and coconut cream until you get a smooth consistency.

Now for the sandwiching. First, spread half of the buttercream on top of one of your cakes, followed by a layer of raspberry jam on top of that. I went a little heavy with my jam and whilst it was extra delicious it did mean things got a little messy. Next, pop your other cake on top and you can use the rest of your buttercream to decorate it however you like!

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